So, today I offer you food. Not hats or crafts or flea-market finds (though I do have some of those that I need to share), but instead….chocolate. And what’s more, it’s a relatively healthy and surprisingly elegant-looking dessert. I took a recipe that my mom got from a friend years ago and de-lactosed it. I am supremely lactose- intolerant and sadly my oldest son follows in my footsteps. So, desserts that we can comfortably enjoy are nearly impossible to come by and almost alwasys have to be made at home. The boys and I made this tonight, and they LOVED it. They said it was the best thing they’d ever eaten and wanted to know if they could have it every night for the rest of their lives. They are not a bit dramatic.

Chocolate Tortilla Torte

6 oz. Ghiradelli 60% Cocoa chocolate chips

2 C. (1 pint) plain Greek yogurt

3 T. powdered sugar

4 whole wheat tortillas

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. ( I started with 45 seconds, stirred, and then did another 10 seconds. ) Stir until completely melted. Add 1 C. Greek yogurt and 1 T. powdered sugar. Lay one tortilla flat on a plate and cover with 1/3 of the chocolate mixture. Smooth it out evenly to the edges of the tortilla; then lay another tortilla on top of that. Continue layering until the chocolate is gone and the 4th tortilla is on top. Mix the remaining cup of yogurt with the remaining 2 T. powdered sugar. Spread this mixture on top of the the tortillas and over the sides. You can sprinkle cocoa or chocolate shavings on top. (I recommend Springfield’s own Askinosie chocolate. It is AMAZING and my husband’s name is on the package of the Tanzanian one!) Serve in SMALL pie-shaped slices. For a party, it looks nice if you remove one slice before serving.

Sadly, I have not entirely completed the dreadful list from my last post (and truth be told, I have added to it), but I have made tremendous progress — despite the gray days in the interim. Sunshine is my drug of choice, and I haven’t been getting my fix lately. Mercifully, today is gorgeous. And I had a gorgeous young model and a photographer friend for a photo shoot in the park. It was a perfect combination of creative people with rock-climbing and jumping adventures available to distract the boys. I only have a few hats and accessories for my grand etsy opening, but a few is something. Here is a preview of what’s coming.

Sometimes, rather quite often, I go through these periods of having so many projects that I feel are absolutely necessary to do RIGHT NOW that I become completely paralyzed in my attempts to prioritize. I am writing this to you (hopefully to someone, but I don’t know) in such a state. I am hoping this little exercise will prove therapeutic and offer me some sort of direction. So, for this completely selfish reason, I am going to write a list of some of the projects that are on my mind, whether they are in the half-completed stage or just an idea.

1. Get the darn business cards and stationery printed for oohlalids.etsy.com so I can FINALLY start the business.

2. Research shipping costs and hat boxes for oohlalids.etsy.com so I can FINALLY start the business.

3. Complete my nieces owl pillows and curtains for her big girl room.

4. Paint the mural on my niece’s wall.

5. Paint and reupholster chairs for the new family room.

6. Determine type of wood in new (antique) drop-leaf table. Decide whether to refinish or paint and do it.

7. Finish painting the kitchen cabinets. Very exciting but also ALOT of work. Ugh.

8. Paint the family tree mural in the hallway.

9. Make curtains and some sort of cheap but nonetheless professional-looking curtain rod for new sliding doors.

10. Make some new hats and fascinators for a Spring collection.

11. Finish sewing suit for Easter (almost-done, but LONG left unfinished).

12. Plan a recital that is interesting enough to me to keep me motivated, but not so difficult as to make me lose what’s left of my mind.

13. Fix the laundry room ceiling which I started to paint a color, but then changed my mind.

14. Do all of this without being a terrible mother or piano teacher.

15. Do all of this while still taking breaks to hang with or go out with friends.

16. Do all of this without having a nervous breakdown.

17. Get help, pychological or otherwise.

For your further amusement, I will post some pictures of some of this insanity a little later. You’ll feel so accomplished and put together. It will be therapeutic for you as well.

…is fun. I used many, many matches in the creation of my burgandy taffeta rose fascinator. I don’t have a video of its creation, but if I did, it might make a great silent film with dramatic organ music. Burning rose petals is not a precise art, and it requires a great deal of stomping out flames and, at least in my case, some near disasters. I think it was well worth the effort and plan to make a few more roses soon. I have some interesting color choices (God bless FM Stores!), so stay tuned.

What is a crafty/project girl supposed to do when the antiquated formal living room is a piano studio, the spare bedroom is her husband’s office and she is unwilling to forfeit the formal dining room? She throws tantrums. Especially when her husband teases her about the mess. Especially when she finds herself literally climbing over mountains of unorganized fabric to get to the sewing machine, which is itself buried in scraps and trims. Especially when the cat gets fleas and she has to put several projects worth of fabric that was on the floor in the deep freeze for a couple of months (for good meaure). Insert primal scream here. Insert sewing stool thrown across the room and broken here. Insert nearly ONE YEAR’s separation between girl and sewing machine here.

And then…

Her husband saw the light. No, the thrown sewing stool did not hit him in the head. Girl is not sure what did it, but she is thankful (even if he did say he was sick of all the complaining).

He gave up his workspace in the garage, or rather, diminished it greatly. He built a wall — literally — and hung a door. She has a room of her own! And soon, she will have heat in said room.